Cover applicator for bottles

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for removing tapered covers from a horizontal nested stack and subsequently placing the covers over the upright necks of a pre-positioned group of bottles. The apparatus includes means for directing bottles in single file from a conveyor and successively stopping the bottles in groups of predetermined numbers directly below a complementary number of angular chutes. A shuttle carriage is operated to grip individual covers from the horizontal nested stacks, move them horizontally to a position above the chutes, and subsequently release them to slide down the chutes and onto the bottles below.

Unite States Graham et a1.

COVER APPLICATOR FOR BOTTLES [75] Inventors: Robert 1-1. Graham,Spokane,

Wash.; John R. Wilson, Golden, C010.

[73] Assignee: IR. A. Pearson Company, Spokane,

Wash.

[22] Filed: June 23, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 265,562

[52] 11.5. C1. 29/208 B [51] int. Cl B235; 19/041 [58] Field of Search29/208 13, 211 R, 29/208 R, 208 C, 211 D [56] References Qited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,875,110 8/1932 Myers 29/208 B 1,971,576 8/1934 Nelson29/211 R X 2,852,899 9/1958 Murrell 29/208 B Ouellette 29/208 B Pearson29/208 B Primary Examiner-Thomas l-l. Eager Attorney-Greek Wells et al.

[57] ABSTRACT An apparatus for removing tapered covers from a horizontalnested stack and subsequently placing the covers over the upright necksof a pre-positioned group of bottles. The apparatus includes means fordirecting bottles in single file from a conveyor and successivelystopping the bottles in groups of pre-determined numbers directly belowa complementary number of angular chutes. A shuttle carriage is operatedto grip individual covers from the horizontal nested stacks, move themhorizontally to a position above the chutes, and subsequently releasethem to slide down the chutes and onto the bottles below.

13 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures PATENTEDncrsOms 3.768Ql36 SHEET 3 [IF 9FIGB PAIENTEnmiI 30 ms SHEET l 0F 9 I a r I I I I! PAIENIEBUBI 30 I9733,768,136 I SHEET 6 U? 9 FIG 6 COVER APPLICATOR FOR BOTTLES BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION The instant invention relates generally to apparatusfor placing cover over objects complementary in configuration to thecover shape and more particularly to apparatus for placing collars orcovers over the tops of bottles.

In the bottling industry and especially in the wine bottling industry,conical collars and foil covers are often placed over bottle necks fordecorative or advertising purposes. The collars or covers are generallysupplied in nested stacks. The process involved in remov-.

ing individual collars or covers from the stacks and placing them overthe necks of bottles has been at tempted both by hand and machine. Ithas been found however that placement by manual operations is relativelyslow and costly.

Prior, related apparatus for placing collars over bottles are disclosedin the following U. S. Pat.:

R. A. Pearson, No. 3,360,843

C. P. Ouellette, No. 3,267,566

C. B. Nelson, No. 1,971,576

H. S. Murrell, No. 2,852,899

L. Myers, No. 1,875,110.

The prior Pearson patent discloses a label machine for placing labels ofa tapered sleeve configuration over the necks of bottles. Individuallabels are taken from nested stacks by pivotable suction arms andmoved,in

an arc, onto the necks of a pre-positioned group of bottles.

The Ouellette patent discloses a bottle collar applying machine in whichindividual bottle collars aretaken from an incliend nested stack andplaced onupright bottle necks by a suction cup mounted to a complexcollar transfer mechanism. The apparatus is designed to apply collars tobottles one at a time, halting each bottle momentarily, as the collar isapplied.

The Nelson, Murrell, and Myers Patents all disclose apparatus forhanding only collars having both ends open to enable their placement ona core member for collar feed purposes. Obviouslythese machines couldnot place conical covers having only one open end over bottlenecks. v i

; The present invention is designed to simultaneously place collars orcovers having one closed end over the necks of a prepositioned group ofbottles. The apparatus includes means for moving individual collars orcovers from horizontal nested stacks to a guide means where they arereleased to gravitationally slide onto the bottles below. Since thecovers or collars are moved along a horizontal path, no complex linkagemust be used. Further, the design of the apparatus facilitatessimultaneous, multiple placement of the collars or covers overcorresponding numbers of bottles, thereby increasing speed of operatonover the above cited art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An apparatus is described for placingindividual tapered circumferential covers over the upper ends of uprightbottles or similarly shaped objects. The apparatus includes means forpositioning an individual bottle in an upright condition at a locationdirectly below an article directing means. Individual articles aregrasped, and moved outwardly from a horizontally nested stack by agripping means which moves the articles over the directing means. Thegripping means shuttles horizontally from the nested stack to a positionabove the guide means where it releases the cover onto the directingmeans, then subsequently moves back to grip the next successive cover inthe stack. After a cover has been withdrawn, the stack is advanced anincrement by a cover supply means. The advance increments aresubstantially equal in length to the exposed ends of the covers inthe'nested stack. The covers, after release from the gripping means areguided by the directing means gravitationally downwardly onto thebottles.

A first object of my invention is to provide a cover applicator forbottles which will automatically place the covers over the bottles. I

An additional object is to provide such an applicator that isconsiderably faster in operation than previous machines or manualmethods of application by presenting capability of applying a number ofcovers simultaneously to a like number of bottles.

A further object is to provide such an applicator that is relativelysimple in construction and thereby inexpensive and relativelymaintenance free.

A yet further object is to provide such an applicator that requireslittle or no adjustment to accommodate bottles of different size.

Another object is to provide such an applicator that may be operatedadjacent an existing single file bottle conveyor thereby requiringlittle if any remodelling of existing systems to facilitate itsinstallation.

These and other objects and advantages will become evident upon readingthe following disclosure taken within the accompanying drawings whichillustrate a preferred form of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of the coverapplicator installed adjacent a longitudinal section of a single filebottle conveyor which is shown in dashed lines;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the applicator;

FIG. 3 is an elevational side view of the applicator as seen from theright in FIG. 2-;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational section taken along lines44 in FIG. 1;.

FIG. 5 isan enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line 55 inFIG. 1;

. FIG. 6 isan enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line 6-6in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detailed side view of a typical clip assembly;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the clip assembly shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a frontal view of the clip assembly as seen from the right inFIG. 7;

FIGS. 10-14 are fragmentary sectional diagrammatic views illustratingthe operational cycle of the applicator; and

FIG. 15 is an axonometric view of a cover.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT pended claims that the inventionmay be efficiently utilized in other related fields.

FIG. 15 of the drawings illustrates a capsule of the type used to coverthe tops of wine bottles. Capsules 10 are generally constructed of metalfoil in the form of a frustum, the small end 6 of which is enclosed.Flared walls 7 extend to an open circumferential edge 8 at the large end9 of each capsule 10.

Capsules 10 are utilized in the wine bottling industry and to a certaindegree in the beer bottling industry to cover the tops of bottles forprotection of the bottle caps and for decorative or advertisingpurposes. A capsule 10 is loosely placed over the upper conical end of abottle 16 as seen in FIG. 14, then subsequently crimped about thecovered portion of the bottle neck. Usually no adhesive is applied toeither the capsule or botle to insure a tight bond since a glued papercollar is generally placed in an overlapping relationship between thecapsule and bottle to affect such results.

Capsules 10, when used in conjunction with the present apparatus, aretaken individually from horizontal nested stacks shown partially inFIGS. 10-14. The stacks are formed by a plurality of capsules 10inserted one in another, with the enlarged ends 9 exposed and spacedsubstantially equally from one another.

Looking now to FIG. 2 of the drawings, the apparatus of the presentinvention, hereinafter referred to as a capsule applicator, may be seeninstalled on a supporting framework 21 adjacent a single file bottleconveyor 12. Such bottle conveyors are typical to the bottling industryand are utilized to move upright bottles from one process to another ina relatively continuous single file procession.

Bottles are removed from conveyor 12, held stationary for placement ofcapsules 10, and subsequently moved back onto conveyor 12 throughoperation of a bottle locating and indexing means. The means basicallycomprise a pair of longitudinal guide rods 13, a second conveyor 14, anda powered intermittently rotating feed worm 17.

Guide rods 13 direct bottles from conveyor 12 onto the upper horizontalflight of second conveyor 14. An electric motor 15 (FIG. 1) powersconveyor 14 to continuously move about a course parallel and in the samedirection as that of conveyor 12.

Guides 13 direct the bottles into engagement along their sides by anelongated feed worm 17, an integral part of the bottle indexing means.Worm 17 is journaled for rotation about a horizontal axis between spacedtransverse side plates 26 of supporting framework 21. A clutch and brakeassembly is operatively mounted to one end of worm 17 and poweredthrough a drive linkage 18 by a central drive unit 19 and drive shaft28.

A pair of limit switches are operated by simple complementary cams (notshown in the drawings) on drive shaft 28 to alternately operate clutchand brake assembly 20 to start and stop rotation of worm 17. One cam andassociated switch operate the clutch of assembly 20 to engage and rotateworm 17. The number of revolutions of worm 17 is limited to the amountrequired to move a selected number of bottles engaged thereby topre-selected positions by the second cam and corresponding limit switch.The second cam and switch operate the brake of assembly 20 to stoprotation of the worm 17. The bottles are held stationary in the pre-setpositions, with conveyor 14 frictionally sliding below,

until the first cam and switch again operate the clutch of assembly 20to rotate worm 17.

It should be noted at this time that the rotation of worm 17simultaneously represents the first and last operational sequence of thecapsule placing operation of the present invention. Capsules are placedon the positioned bottles while worm 17 is stationary. Subsequently,when assembly 20 is activated to rotate worm 17, the covered bottles aredischarged, guided back onto conveyor 12 by rods 13, and a new group ofbottles are engaged simultaneously and moved to the preselectedpositions. It'may be understood, then, that the progress of the bottlesalong the conveyors 12 and 14 is halted only during the briefoperational sequence involving placement of capsules 10 over thepositioned bottles.

Capsules 10 are placed over the bottles held stationary at thepre-selected capsule receiving locations through sequential operation ofa capsule supply means, a capsule gripping means, and a capsuledirecting means.

The capsule supply means basically includes a capsule supply conveyorassembly 22 (FIGS. 2 and 6) and means attached thereto for indexinghorizontal nested stacks of capsules inwardly toward the waitingbottles.

The nested stacks of capsules each rest between the upper flights of alongitudinally spaced pair of belts 29 of assembly 22. Belts 29 moveabout a transverse course, with respect to conveyors 12 and 14, definedby an idler pulley 31 and drive pulley 32.

Belts 29 are driven inwardly in timed increments by a cam 34 rigidlyfixed to central drive shaft 28. A follower 35 (FIG. 6), rotatablymounted to one end of an L-shaped crank arm 36, is biased against thecam surface by a tension spring 37 for pivotal movement about astationary pivot pin 33. As cam 34 rotates, crank 36 is forced to pivotbetween an inward position, shown by dashed lines, and an outwardposition as sown by solid lines.

A connecting rod 38 is pivotably mounted between the other free end ofcrank 36 and a freely pivotable ratchet housing 40. Housing 40 ispivotably mounted on a drive shaft 39 which also rigidly supports drivepulley 32 and a ratchet wheel 42 for rotation therewith. A pawl 41 ispivotably fixed to housing 40 to engage and rotate the enclosed ratchetwheel 42 as cam 34 forces crank 36 to the outward position. The drivepulley 32 is thereby partially rotated to index the nested stack ofcapsules 10 on belts 29 forwardly a distance substantially equal to thespace between two adjacent edges 8 of the nested capsules. Cam 34 isangularly indexed on central drive shaft 28 to insure movement of thecapsules in timed relation to the operation of the capsule grippingmeans.

The capsule gripping means includes a series of capsule clip assemblies24 facing the nested stacks of capsules 10 and fixed to a shuttlecarriage 25. Clips 24 are operated to successively grip the innermostcapsules 10 of the nested stacks. The capsules are then pulled free ofthe stacks, moved inwardly and subsequently released onto the capsuleguide means.

Each clip assembly 24 (FIGS. 7, 8, and 9) is designed to grip a capsulewall 7 adjacent the open inwardly facing end 9 between an upperstationary clip member 45 and a lower pivotable clip member 48. Afriction pad 47 is provided on upper member 45 for frictionally engagingthe inside of a capsule wall 7 while a corresponding surface 54 on lowermember 48 engages the outside. Lower clip member 48 is pivotably mountedby a bracket 49 and pivot pin 50 to upper member 45. A torsion spring 53is mounted between members and 48 on pivot pin to nonnally bias surface54 upwardly against friction pad 47. An inwardly extending lever arm 51of member 48 is utilized to pivot member 48 to an open position as shownin dashed lines in FIG. 5. The opening and closing of member 48 isessential to capsule gripping and releasing operations which will bedescribed in more detail below.

Clip assemblies 24 are carried on a longitudinal elongated clip bar 56of carriage 25. The ends of bar 56 are rigidly fixed to carriage sidemembers 57 (FIG. 4), each of which freely rotatably journals atransversely spaced pair of rollers 58. Horizontally oriented tracks 59are mounted on frame side plates 26 to receive rollers 58. The carriage25 and attached clip assemblies 24 are thereby supported on tracks 59for reciprocating movement along a horizontal path between an outwardextended capsule gripping position and an inward retracted, capsulereleasing position. a

The reciprocating movement of carriage 25 is'originated from rotation ofshaft 28 to which an eccentric drive cam 61 is attached. A follower 62,rotatably held at one end of a pivotable V-shaped crank 63, is biasedagainst the periphery of cam 61 by a tension spring 66. Spring 66 isfixed between crank 63 and a frame side plate 26 to assure continuouscontact between cam 61 and follower 62. As cam 61 is rotated with shaft28, follower 62 is raised or lowered by the cam surface in an arc aboutthe axis of a pivot pin 64 at the vertex of the V-shaped crank 63. Aconnecting rod 65 is pivotably fixed at one end to carriage 25 and atthe other to the free end of crank 63. The pivotal motion of crank 63 inresponse to rotation of cam6l is transmitted to carriage 25 by rod 65.

Carriage 25 reciprocates on tracks 59vbetween the outward extendedposition shown ,in dashed lines in,

positioned on shaft28 relative to sules are indexed inwardly as carriage25 reaches its extended position.

FIG. 10 illustrates a typical clip assembly 24 at the extended positionof carriage 10 and the resultant position of the nested stack ofcapsules 10. As the stack is indexed inwardly by supply conveyor 22, theinnermost capsule edge 8 abuts a vertical stop plate 46 on upper clipmember 45. v

It may be noted that lower member 48 at this point in theoperationalsequence of the machine, is in the open position describedpreviously. The open position of member 48 is affected by a roller 90located elevationally in the path 'of member 48 by operation of acapsule stop and release assembly 23 (FIG. 5). A cam 69 is mounted onshaft 28 to pivot a follower 70 and follower arm 71 about thelongitudinal axis of a lifter pivot shaft 73. Roller 90 is fixed toshaft 73 by an angular extension arm 89.

Can 69 is rotated by drive shaft 28 to pivot follower 70 to the raisedposition shown in dotted lines in FIG. 5, and back to the loweredposition shown in solid lines, in an are about the axis of shaft 73.Follower 70 is biased against the periphery of cam 69 by a tensionspring 72 connected between follower arm 71 and "a frame side plate 26.

As follower is pivoted in response to rotation of cam 69 roller 90 alsomoves into and out of the path of lower clip member 48. The angularplacement of cam 69 on shaft 28 is such that roller 90 is pivotedupwardly into the path of member 48 as it moves to the extendedposition. A dwell section on cam 69 maintains roller 90 in the upwardposition as member 48 is engaged, and pivoted upwardly to the openposition. Carriage drive cam 61 also reaches a dwell period at theextended position, leaving carriage 25 momentarily stationary. It isduring this dwell period that the capsule supply means is actuated bycam 34 to index the innermost capsules of the adjacent nested stacksinto abutment against stops 46 of complementary clip assemblies 24.

After the indexing operation of the capsule supply means, rollers 90 arepivoted downwardly by cam 69. Clip members 48 are thereby allowed topivot upwardly against lower members of capsule release assemblies 23.

Capsule release assemblies 23 each include an upper pivotable capsulestop arm 77 and lower pivotable member 75. Both are operativelyconnected to pivot shaft 73 (FIG. 5) to be operated by rotation of cam69. Capsule stop arm 77 is pivotably mounted elevationally above arm 75to an upright bracket 79. Bracket 79 is affixed to a longitudinal baradjacent drive pulleys 32 of supply conveyor 22. A connecting rod 82 ispivotably fixed between a collar 84 and one end of an intermediate crankarm 83. The other end of arm 83 is fixed to stop arm 77 at its pivotaxis. Lower member 75 is also pivotably mounted to bracket 79 andprojects inwardly between upper and lower clip members 45 and 48 at theextended position of clip assemblies 24 (FIG. 10,11). A secondconnecting rod 80 extends downwardly from member 75 to pivotably connectto a second collar 81.

. Both collars 84, 81 are rigidly fixedto shaft 73 for movement inresponse to rotation of cam 69. The resultant pivotal positions 'ofmember 75 and arm 77 are shown in .FIG. 5 in dotted and solidlines. Thedotted positions indicate an open condition. as may be facilitateseasily seen in FIG. 10. This open condition facilitateas inward indexingof the nested stack of capsules. Theclosed position, shown in solid linsin FIGS. 5, 11, and 12 accomplishes two objectives. First, upper stoparm 77 is lowered to engage'the edge 8 of the capsule 10 directlyadjacent the innermost capsule. Stop arm 77 thereby aids to stop furtherinward movement of the stack as the innermost capsule is withdrawn (FIG.12). Secondly, lower member 75 presents a friction pad 76 at its innerend for overlappingly engaging ,the outer walls of the two innermostcapsules of the stack. Pad 76 is pivoted upwardly and is gripped betweenclip members 45, 48 (FIG. 11) as roller is pivoted from engagement withclip member 48. The coefficient of friction presented by the capsuleengaging surface of pad'76 is considerably less than that of frictionpad 47 engaging the inside wall of the capsule. Further, frictionalcontact between the innermost capsule and the next adjacent capsule isless than that between the outer capsule wall and pad 76. Therefore, asthe clip assembly is moved inwardly, the engaged capsule is drawn fromthe stack by the frictional contact between theinner capsule wall andpad 47.'Friction pad 76, along with stop arm 77, prevents the stack frombeing pulled inwardly as the inner capsule is withdrawn. Pad 76 alsoprevents withdrawal of more than one capsule regardless of how tightlythe capsules are nested together.

As the clip assembly 24 is moved inwardly, the capsule grip surface 54on lower clip member 48 slides along the lower surface of member 75until the engaged capsule is substantially clear of the stack. Surface54 then slides from contact with member 75 to directly engage thecapsule outer wall (FIG. 12). Thus engaged, the capsule is moved to theinward retracted position where it is released onto the capsuledirecting means.

The capsule directing means serves to first grip the capsule, partlyreleased by clip assembly 24, then direct it to gravitationally slidedownward onto the neck of a bottle 16 below (FIGS. 13 and 14).

As carriage 25 moves to the retracted position, clip members 24 areagain opened as arms 51 engage stationary inclined surfaces 94 of clipopener blocks 93.

The small ends 6 of the capsules are thereby allowed to drop downwardlyto become engaged between longitudinally spaced, upwardly projectingpairs of prongs 101, (FIG. 13).

An inclined guide or chute 98 supports each pair of prongs 101 at itsupper end. Chute 98 is aligned with the nested stack of capsules andextends angularly downward from an upper end adjacent the inner end ofthe stack, to a lower end elevationally above and aligned with apre-positioned bottle 16.

The large end 9 of the capsule 10, as it moves completely free fromengagement by clip assembly 24, then drops downwardly onto chute 98.This movement pivots small end 6 free from engagement between prongs101. Capsule is then free to gravitationally slide down chute 98, whichis U-shaped in cross section, and onto a waiting bottle 16 below. Themovement of capsule 10 along chute 98 is diagrammatically shown bydashed lines in FIG. 14.

While the specific operations of the structure has been described above,the general scheme may be best understood from a study of theoperational cycle shown in FIGS. 10 through 14. These figures representthe operational sequence followed after a row of bottles have beenpositioned by feed worm 17.

At the beginning of the cycle, (FIG. 10) carriage 25 moves the clipassemblies 24 to the extended position. At this position, the nestedstacks of capsules are indexed inwardly on supply conveyor 22 bringingthe innermost capsules into engagement with clip assemblies 24.

The lower clip members 48 are allowed to close (FIG. 11) prior toretraction of carriage 25. As the carriage is retracted (to the right inFIG. 11) the innermost capsules 10 are engaged and pulled from thestacks (FIG. 12). Clip assemblies 24 are gradually opened as carriage 25moves to its retracted position, by clip opener blocks 93. As assemblies24 open, the small ends 6 of the capsules drop elevationally and areengaged between the prongs 101 of chutes 98 (FIG. 13). The enlarged ends9 of the capsules then drop downwardly from engagement by clipassemblies 24 onto chutes 98. The freed capsules 10 then slidegravitationally down chutes 98 and onto bottles 16 below (FIG.

to move the covered bottles back onto initial conveyor 12 whilesimultaneously moving a subsequent group of bottles to the pre-selectedpositions. Once the bottles reach these positions, the above describedoperational cycle is repeated.

Various modifications can be readily recognized in the basic structurewithout deviating from its underlying principles. Therefore, only thefollowing claims are intended to limit and restrict the scope of thisinvention.

What we claim is:

1. In an apparatus for placing a tapered circumferential article overthe upper end of an upright bottle, container or similar product:

bottle conveyor means for locating an individual bottle in an uprightposition at a pre-selected location; article directing means above thebottle position at said pre-selected location for gravitationallyguiding a article engaged thereby downwardly onto an upright bottle atsaid pre-selected location;

article supply means for holding a nested stack of articles;

capsule gripping means for grasping an individual article in said stackand subsequently moving the article outward from the stack and intoengagement with said article directing means;

and first control means operatively connected to said article grippingmeans for releasing each article grasped thereby following engagement ofthe article with said article directing means.

2. The apparatus as set out in claim 1,

wherein said article directing means comprises an upwardly facing chuteinclined downwardly toward a discharge end located adjacent the upperend of a bottle at said pre-selected location.

3. The apparatus as set out in claim 1, further comprising:

intermittently operable article stepping means operatively connected tosaid article supply means for sequentially advancing a nested stack ofarticle to thereby locate an individual exposed article at one end ofthe stack for grasping thereof by the article gripping means.

4. The apparatus as set out in claim 1,

wherein said article directing means comprises an upwardly facing chuteinclined downwardly toward a discharge end located adjacent the upperend of a bottle at said pre-selected location;

said article supply means comprising a horizontal conveyor forsupporting a nested stack of articles and intermittently advancingtoward one end thereof where an individual exposed article iselevationally located upwardly adjacent to the upper end of the chute;

said article gripping means being movable horizontally over the chutebetween a first position at which it grasps the exposed article in thestack and a second position above the chute at which the gripping meansis released by operation of the first control means.

5. In an apparatus for placement of a cup-shaped article over the upperend of a bottle, the article having conical flared walls terminating atan open circumferential inner edge:

a support framework;

a supply conveyor on said framework holding a stack of nested articlesfor intermittently moving the stack longitudinally inward on saidframework in the direction of their inner edges;

a shuttle carriage movably mounted to said framework;

gripper means on said shuttle carriage adapted to grasp the exposedwalls of the innermost article on said supply conveyor;

a downwardly inclined guide on said framework aligned with the supplyconveyor and located elevationally beneath the shuttle carriage, saidguide being directed to a station at the lower end of the guide at whicha receiving bottle may be located;

and powered means operatively connected to said shuttle carriage andgripper means for sequentially moving the carriage to the stack ofnested articles on said supply conveyor, operating said gripper means tograsp the exposed walls of the innermost article in the stack,retracting the carriage over the guide and releasing the gripper meansto permit the grasped article to move gravitationally along the guide tothe station at the lower end thereof.

6. The apparatus as set out in claim 5, wherein said gripper meanscomprises a mechanical clip having:

a first member including a first friction pad adapted to engage theinside surface of a article wall adjacent its inner edge;

a second member including a second friction pad adapted to engage theoutside surface of a article wall adjacent its inner edge in opposedrelation to the first friction pad;

one of said members being movably mounted to the shuttle carriage formovement of the friction pad therewith toward or away from the frictionpad of the remaining member.

7. The apparatus as set out in claim 6 wherein said one member is springbiased to normally urge the friction pad thereon toward an operativeposition wherein' it abuts the friction pad of the remaining member.

8. The apparatus as set out in claim 7 further comprising:

stationary means on said framework in the path of said one member andengaged by said one member when the shuttle carriage has retracted anarticle from the stack and moved over the guide for moving the frictionpad of said one'member apart from the friction pad of the remainingmember to release an article grasped thereby.

9. The apparatus set out in claim wherein said conveyor has an upperhorizontal flight supporting the stack of nested articles;

and means operatively connected to the conveyor for moving the upperhorizontal flight inwardly along the framework an incremental distanceequal to the nested height of one article during each sequentialmovement of the shuttle carriage.

10. In an apparatus for placement of a cup-shaped article over the upperend of a bottle, the article having conical flared walls terminating atan open circumferential inner edge:

a support framework;

a horizontal bottle conveyor on the framework;

bottle indexing means on the framework for selectively locating a bottleon said conveyor in a fixed upright position at an article receivinglocation;

an inclined article chute mounted to the framework and having anupwardly facing surface leading from an elevated upper end to anelevationally lower discharge end positioned so as to gravitationallydirect a downwardly open article on said surface onto a bottle at thecapsule receiving location;

a carriage mounted on the framework above the chute for reversiblemovement along a path aligned with the chute; I

article supply means on said conveyor for supporting a horizontal stackof nested articles and locating individual articles at one end of thestack with the article open edge facing the carriage;

a selectively-operable grip on the carriage facing toward the articlesupply means and adapted to engage the walls of a single article fortransport by said carriage;

and power means on the framework connected to the carriage for moving itbetween a first position at which the grip is in engagement with anarticle at said one end of a stack as located by said article supplymeans and a second position at which an article grasped by the gripoverlies the upper end of the chute.

11. The apparatus as set out in claim 10 further comprising:

first operating means engageable with the grip for causing the grip toengage the walls of an article following movement of the carriage tosaid first position.

12. The apparatus as set out in claim 11 further comprising:

second operating means engageable with the grip for causing the grip torelease its grasp of the walls of an article as it reaches the secondposition during movement from the first position.

13. The apparatus as set out in claim 12 wherein said power means movesthe carriage from said first position to a location on the frameworkbeyond said second position;

and article retarding means at the upper end of the chute forfrictionally engaging articles as it is released by the grip at thecarriage second position.

1. In an apparatus for placing a tapered circumferential article overthe upper end of an upright bottle, container or similar product: bottleconveyor means for locating an individual bottle in an upright positionat a pre-selected location; article directing means above the bottleposition at said preselected location for gravitationally guiding aarticle engaged thereby downwardly onto an upright bottle at saidpre-selected location; article supply means for holding a nested stackof articles; capsule gripping means for grasping an individual articlein said stack and subsequently moving the article outward from the stackand into engagement with said article directing means; and first controlmeans operatively connected to said article gripping means for releasingeach article grasped thereby following engagement of the article withsaid article directing means.
 2. The apparatus as set out in claim 1,wherein said article directing means comprises an upwardly facing chuteinclined downwardly toward a discharge end located adjacent the upperend of a bottle at said pre-selected location.
 3. The apparatus as setout in claim 1, further comprising: intermittently operable articlestepping means operatively connected to said article supply means forsequentially advancing a nested stack of article to thereby locate anindividual exposed article at one end of the stack for grasping thereofby the article gripping means.
 4. The apparatus as set out in claim 1,wherein said article directing means comprises an upwardly facing chuteinclined downwardly toward a discharge end located adjacent the upperend of a bottle at said pre-selected location; said article supply meanscomprising a horizontal conveyor for supporting a nested stack ofarticles and intermittently advancing toward one end thereof where anindividual exposed article is elevationally located upwardly adjacent tothe upper end of the chute; said article gripping means being movablehorizontally over the chute between a first position at which it graspsthe exposed article in the stack and a second position above the chuteat which the gripping means is released by operation of the firstcontrol means.
 5. In an apparatus for placement of a cup-shaped articleover the upper end of a bottle, the article having conical flared wallsterminating at an open circumferential inner edge: a support framework;a supply conveyor on said framework holding a stack of nested articlesfor intermittently moving the stack longitudinally inward on saidframework in the direction of their inner edges; a shuttle carriagemovably mounted to said framework; gripper means on said shuttlecarriage adapted to grasp the exposed walls of the innermost article onsaid supply conveyor; a downwarDly inclined guide on said frameworkaligned with the supply conveyor and located elevationally beneath theshuttle carriage, said guide being directed to a station at the lowerend of the guide at which a receiving bottle may be located; and poweredmeans operatively connected to said shuttle carriage and gripper meansfor sequentially moving the carriage to the stack of nested articles onsaid supply conveyor, operating said gripper means to grasp the exposedwalls of the innermost article in the stack, retracting the carriageover the guide and releasing the gripper means to permit the graspedarticle to move gravitationally along the guide to the station at thelower end thereof.
 6. The apparatus as set out in claim 5, wherein saidgripper means comprises a mechanical clip having: a first memberincluding a first friction pad adapted to engage the inside surface of aarticle wall adjacent its inner edge; a second member including a secondfriction pad adapted to engage the outside surface of a article walladjacent its inner edge in opposed relation to the first friction pad;one of said members being movably mounted to the shuttle carriage formovement of the friction pad therewith toward or away from the frictionpad of the remaining member.
 7. The apparatus as set out in claim 6wherein said one member is spring biased to normally urge the frictionpad thereon toward an operative position wherein it abuts the frictionpad of the remaining member.
 8. The apparatus as set out in claim 7further comprising: stationary means on said framework in the path ofsaid one member and engaged by said one member when the shuttle carriagehas retracted an article from the stack and moved over the guide formoving the friction pad of said one member apart from the friction padof the remaining member to release an article grasped thereby.
 9. Theapparatus set out in claim 5 wherein said conveyor has an upperhorizontal flight supporting the stack of nested articles; and meansoperatively connected to the conveyor for moving the upper horizontalflight inwardly along the framework an incremental distance equal to thenested height of one article during each sequential movement of theshuttle carriage.
 10. In an apparatus for placement of a cup-shapedarticle over the upper end of a bottle, the article having conicalflared walls terminating at an open circumferential inner edge: asupport framework; a horizontal bottle conveyor on the framework; bottleindexing means on the framework for selectively locating a bottle onsaid conveyor in a fixed upright position at an article receivinglocation; an inclined article chute mounted to the framework and havingan upwardly facing surface leading from an elevated upper end to anelevationally lower discharge end positioned so as to gravitationallydirect a downwardly open article on said surface onto a bottle at thecapsule receiving location; a carriage mounted on the framework abovethe chute for reversible movement along a path aligned with the chute;article supply means on said conveyor for supporting a horizontal stackof nested articles and locating individual articles at one end of thestack with the article open edge facing the carriage; aselectively-operable grip on the carriage facing toward the articlesupply means and adapted to engage the walls of a single article fortransport by said carriage; and power means on the framework connectedto the carriage for moving it between a first position at which the gripis in engagement with an article at said one end of a stack as locatedby said article supply means and a second position at which an articlegrasped by the grip overlies the upper end of the chute.
 11. Theapparatus as set out in claim 10 further comprising: first operatingmeans engageable with the grip for causing the grip to engage the wallsof an article following movement of the carriage to said first position.12. The apparatuS as set out in claim 11 further comprising: secondoperating means engageable with the grip for causing the grip to releaseits grasp of the walls of an article as it reaches the second positionduring movement from the first position.
 13. The apparatus as set out inclaim 12 wherein said power means moves the carriage from said firstposition to a location on the framework beyond said second position; andarticle retarding means at the upper end of the chute for frictionallyengaging articles as it is released by the grip at the carriage secondposition.